Old Spice advert from 1980.

The Shulton Company, original producer of Old Spice, was founded in 1934 by William Lightfoot Schultz. The first Old Spice product was a fragrance called Early American Old Spice for women, introduced in 1937. Old Spice for men followed in 1938.

The early men’s products were dominated by shaving soap and aftershave lotion, marketed with a nautical theme. Sailing ships, in particular were used as a trademark. The original ships used on the packaging were the Grand Turk and the Friendship. Other ships used on Old Spice packaging include the John Wesley, Salem, Birmingham, Maria Teresa, Propontis, Recovery, Sooloo, Star of the West, Constitution, Java, United States, and Hamilton. Procter & Gamble purchased Old Spice from the Shulton Company in June 1990. The clipper ship was replaced by the yacht logo in February 1992. In the late 2000s, Procter & Gamble introduced many forms of deodorant sticks, body washes, and body sprays in several scents under the Old Spice brand.

In early 2008, the original Old Spice scent was repackaged as “Classic Scent,” both in the after shave and cologne versions. The traditional white glass bottles gave way to plastic, and the grey stoppers to red. And Old Spice Classic shower gel is sold using the slogan “The original. If your grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist.” Many long time users have been disappointed with the “Classic Scent”, as it appears to be a different formula, and grumblings from devotees can even be found on the comments section of Old Spice’s website.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia